a pause word in speech that is near - but not to be confused with - one of the traditional meanings of the word, which is "similar to". (In the citations below, the person is asking if someone is something, not similar to something.)

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This phrase got passed around Fort Knox by G.I.s and slowly over-used in the surrounding towns and counties. It is used as a lazy way of upgrading the status of a procedure or a description of something.